How a furniture retailer used DNS-layer protection to instantly secure its stores and users

Enhancing security with DNS-layer protection results in remote workforce success!

Introduction

Fabb Furniture, the leading regional furniture and carpet retailer in the UK, has a strong presence in the East of England, spanning over 4 decades. Originally a part of the Anglia Regional Co-operative Society, it gained independence in 2011 and rebranded to Fabb Furniture in 2020, with multiple outlets situated on retail parks across the country.

 

The Challenge

Facing the need to safeguard, monitor, and manage their network across 22 sites, including stores and their headquarters. The main requirement we identified for our client was the need for greater protection against ransomware.

Given their small management team and the versatile role of Ben Jennings, IT Manager, the requirement was for a comprehensive solution that didn’t necessitate multiple tools.

 

The Solution

Babble recommended Cisco Umbrella as the ideal solution for Fabb Furniture.

Cisco Umbrella serves as the primary defence against threats, ensuring the security of Internet users, no matter where they browse. This cloud-based solution offers comprehensive visibility into internet activity, encompassing all locations, devices, and users. It proactively blocks access to malicious websites before a connection is established, fortifying the first line of defence.

Given that nearly all internet communications require DNS lookups, Umbrella secures the network at the DNS layer, ensuring security for virtually all network communications, whether users are on or off the corporate network. Cisco Umbrella analyses huge volumes of data and Internet activity from DNS requests to identify and respond to threat patterns.

Cisco Umbrella provided a cost-effective answer as it eliminated the need for extra firewalls or infrastructure. Additionally, it supplied essential protection for the growing number of remote workers, shielding them from zero-day threats. The automated AI capabilities significantly boosted its efficiency.

Whether five or 5,000 locations, Cisco Umbrella empowers retailers to deliver a swift, secure, and appropriate Wi-Fi Internet experience effortlessly and dependably to all network users. In a climate of tighter budgets, limited resources, and an increasing number of alerts, security teams in the retail sector require strategies to bolster digital security without incurring excessive costs or overburdening staff.

The Cisco Umbrella solution has helped Fabb Furniture to:

Prevent malware, contain botnets, and enforce acceptable use policies across numerous locations.
Simplify security and monitor distributed networks through a unified, centralised dashboard.
Staying vigilant against new threats through weekly reports and access to expert support when needed.
Instantly configuring the dashboard to gain visibility into Internet activity across all devices and networks at Fabb sites.
Implementing threat protection against malware, C2 call-backs, and phishing.
Harnessing predictive intelligence to automate threat protection by identifying attacks before they launch.
Achieving comprehensive coverage across all sites within minutes, with no hardware or software installation, as Cisco Umbrella seamlessly integrates into the existing security toolset.
Receiving weekly security reports, including a personalised summary of malicious requests and more.

““Babble has helped us improve our security through DNS-layer protection that is delivered through Cisco Umbrella.
This has allowed us to protect all our users and maintain full control of our network traffic, enabling us to proactively resolve any potential threats to our IT Infrastructure.
This has been especially valuable to us though this period of remote working and store closure.
The support team are very knowledgeable, and always quick to respond.””

Ben JenningsIT Manager, Fabb Furniture

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